Sidepodcast

Not for the first time, the F1 world is facing a problem with transparency. Yesterday a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council was held in Paris and those present agreed on a number of points that were scheduled to be discussed. None of this came as a huge surprise, but what has knocked the F1 world sideways is an update to the 2009 calendar that casually drops the Canadian Grand Prix.

Whilst there are no doubt reasons for the FIA dropping the race, the problem is no-one has any information as to what they might be. A quick scan of the official press release that followed the meeting actually makes no mention, it only provides a revised 2009 calendar without giving reason for the omission of a significant part of its timetable.

The subsequent reaction around the web has been entirely predictable given that one of the best races on the calendar has suddenly vanished, and now the sport has no presence in North America. As a result of the lack of information, every man has his dog have been blamed, most of them probably unfairly, but when there’s nothing to work with what else can people do?

It’s almost as if the FIA is deliberately trying to court controversy, as if they revel in lighting the blue touch paper and watching the resulting fireworks.

Continue reading…

• Length: 23:08 
• Size: 21.3 MB 
• File: guideomnibus.mp3 
• Transcript: guideomnibus.pdf 
• Torrent: guideomnibus.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1. This is the omnibus edition, where the seven separate shows (originally released over seven days) are brought together in one place.

Here are the links to the individual show notes:

1. Introduction
2. Race Weekend
3. Pit Stops
4. F1 Cars
5. The FIA
6. Safety
7. Attending a Race

This was the first mini series Sidepodcast ever released, originally in 2007, and served as a good introduction to the sport for those who had never watched before.

Mr. Bernard Charles Ecclestone appears to be painting himself into a bit of a corner when it comes to the number of Grand Prix races he’s looking to run, versus the rather inconvenient constraints posed by the Gregorian calendar.

From 2010, Bernie has committed to a race in South Korea. Herman Tilke has been busy designing a brand new track since the middle of 2006, and assuming the FIA approve the track and facilities, that’s where Formula 1 will be racing in three years time.

In addition, aside from the two extra venues added this year, in 2009 both India and Abu Dhabi will join the calendar (approval pending).

All this leaves Ecclestone the unfortunate problem of fitting everything in.

Continue reading…

• Length: 3:59 
• Size: 3.7 MB 
• File: guide2.mp3 
• Transcript: guide2.pdf 
• Torrent: guide2.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

You’ve heard the introduction and you know what F1 is about, so now you want to sit down and watch a race. The first thing you need to do is find out when the next race is on. The calendar for each year is available a couple of months before the season starts, and is published on many different websites. The official sites have calendars and countdowns, many blogs will post about the dates to come. A quick Google search will point you in the right direction.

The coverage you get will depend on where you are in the world. Here in the UK, we get both qualifying and the race on the TV, but have to rely on the internet for all the practice and testing results as and when they happen. Of course, if all else fails, you can subscribe to Sidepodcast for race reports and all the news you need to know.

Anyway, shameless plug over, what can you expect from a race weekend?

Races usually take place every two weeks, but it seems to be getting more and more erratic, sometimes having races weekly, and then an entire month off. Once the teams have arrived at a circuit, the race weekend can really begin.

Friday practice is so called because it takes place on the Friday before the race. It consists of two sessions, both 90 minutes, and the teams can run what they want, when they want, to get a feel of the track and the conditions. It’s not always an accurate prediction of who’s going to fare well during the race, but it can give you a good idea of who’s fast and who is lagging behind. The teams like to get the fastest times because it’s good publicity for them and their sponsors.

Saturday morning consists of another practice session. This one is 1 hour long and is more indicative of what is going to happen in qualifying later that day. Track conditions will be improving all the time, as the cars get more rubber from their tyres onto the tarmac, and again, drivers will be striving to get the fastest time.

The qualifying format has changed several times over the years, but the idea behind it is still the same. Throughout the hour-long session, the teams will run their cars to find an ultimate fast lap – one that will dictate the position they will start in for the race the following day. If a car fails to secure a time due to driver or mechanical error, it is most likely they will start at the back of the grid. Where you position yourself in qualifying is more than just aiming to get first – you also have to think about where on the track you end up. The racing line favours the driver in pole position, and when in grid formation, two cars are staggered next to each other all the way back, so the second place car will suffer the worst track surface.

Sunday is race day. Teams will get their cars set up and their drivers ready, and then wave them off around the track to form their grid position. All the mechanics are welcomed onto the grid to make their very last minute preparations and escort their famous guests around for the pursuing cameras. The atmosphere before the race begins is feverish and the anticipation is almost better than the race itself. However, it’s when the track is cleared of people, and the drivers head off on their parade lap, that you know something good is about to happen. The five lights come on one by one and when they go out, its go, Go, GO! Sorry, almost turned into a commentator then. The first corner is usually the most exciting, with 20+ cars bundling and jostling for position. After that, the 50 or so laps of a race fly by, with retirements, overtaking and pit stops, until eventually the winner crosses the start finish line for his share of the glory. The top eight drivers receive points, as do the top eight constructors. The race winner, and those in second and third get to partake in a little champagne on the podium, whilst receiving their trophies. The winning constructor of the day also receives a magnificent trophy for their contribution to a great race day.

After that, there’s just time for a debrief in the following press conference, where the top three talk about how tough the conditions were and what they did to outsmart their fellow sportsmen, before everyone goes home for a rest.

Next time on the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1, I’ll be looking at pit stops in more detail.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.

• Length: 3:26 
• Size: 3.2 MB 
• File: guide1.mp3 
• Transcript: guide1.pdf 
• Torrent: guide1.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1. This series is aimed at complete newbies to Formula 1, people who have never seen a race, or who had no idea what was happening when they did watch one. Trust me, I went through a year of watching every race without knowing who was who or why they were doing what they were doing. I know what you’re going through. Once I made the decision to figure it all out though, it wasn’t long before things started to click into place. And now I want to help you have the same experience.

So let’s start at the very beginning and take a look at where Formula 1 fits in the world.

In the early 1900s, F1 began with rickety cars and older gentleman drivers, but the actual F1 Championship didn’t begin until the 1950s. As the decades passed and the Championship developed, it soon became clear that Formula 1 was the pinnacle of motorsport. The cars were the fastest, the technology was the most advanced and the drivers were at the peak of their fitness coming from countries all across the world.

With the introduction of sponsorship, F1 took on its more commercial form and can now be considered big business – with figures reaching millions and billions with ease. With big business comes politics and sometimes it’s who you know and how much money you have that gets you what you want. F1 is riddled with conspiracy theorists – I will admit to being one of them – but depending on how immersed you want to get in the Formula 1 world, that side of things is easily ignored.

What really matters is what happens on the track.

Travelling across the globe for about eight months of the year, Formula 1 visits countries large and small, rich and not-quite-so-rich, with colourful backdrops, glamorous visitors and plenty of local culture to be soaked up. Covering Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a Formula 1 weekend is an intense ride, from early testing, to the closing laps of the race.

The basic structure features a race every fortnight. Sometimes the calendar is played with a little bit and there are races on back-to-back weekends, or sometimes you have to go a few weeks before seeing the familiar faces again. Once it is time for another race, you can monitor the news for your favourite team as they arrive at the destination. I’ll get into the details of the weekend another time, but in brief, Friday involves practice sessions, Saturday is for qualifying and Sunday is race day. Then there is just time to digest the events of the weekend and catch up with all the press releases, before the teams are moving off to their next destination.

I won’t lie and tell you there is never a dull moment in Formula 1. Being a fan is a frustrating business. The winter months can pass with no news whatsoever, and unless there is a race on that week, there’s very little to keep you occupied. You have to be dedicated to find news that will keep you interested when nothing is going on. The races themselves are also quite sporadic. You can be leaping with excitement during the frantic action of the pit stops, and then there can be many laps just watching the traffic go by.

But when you catch that fantastic overtaking move, or end up on the edge of your seat to see who comes out on top, it is absolutely, 100% worth it.

I think that’s enough for our introduction – join me next time for a more in depth look at the race weekend.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.